


Snow is Falling

by orpheous87



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Auror Partners, Christmas Fluff, Getting Together, H/D Owlpost 2020, Harry/Draco Owlpost Fest 2020, M/M, Mistletoe, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:47:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27425944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orpheous87/pseuds/orpheous87
Summary: Sent to Scotland for a long-term surveillance mission, Harry and Draco spend more time together than ever before, leading to confessions.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 15
Kudos: 38
Collections: Harry/Draco Owlpost 2020





	Snow is Falling

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tasteofshapes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tasteofshapes/gifts).



> To tasteofshapes: Happy holidays! I took two of your suggested prompts and combined them for this fic and I hope you enjoy it! ❤️
> 
> Thank you to P for betaing ❤️

“Are you serious?” 

“Why would I lie about this?” 

“Well, I don’t know. Just to see my face?” 

“I see your face all the time. I wouldn’t lie to make it do something different.” 

“Ugh. Great.” 

Harry dropped into his desk chair and covered his face with his hands. 

Draco, his Auror partner, was perched on the edge of his own desk, watching Harry with bemusement. “It’s only Scotland. We spent the best part of seven years there.” 

“That was different, and you know it,” Harry replied, removing his hands from his face. “A long-term surveillance mission _over Christmas_ is _not_ my idea of fun.” 

“Even though you’ll be with me for the whole time?” Draco asked, pressing one hand to his chest in mock surprise. 

Harry snorted. “Are you telling me that you _won’t mind_ being trapped in a poky little cottage–or wherever they put us– _with me_ over Christmas without seeing your friends and family?” 

“Alright, I’ll admit that it’s not the ideal scenario,” Draco said. “But, you know… we could start a brand new tradition.” 

Harry laughed in disbelief. “You have to be kidding.” 

“Yes. I am. A few weeks in Scotland will be nothing if we catch these lunatics,” Draco replied, shaking his head slightly. “I know that what they’re doing is a drop in the ocean compared to what my father and his friends used to get up to, but honestly… they started small too.” 

Harry watched him for a moment before sighing. “Alright, you’re right. You’re right. We can do this. It’ll be fine. When do we leave?” 

“At the weekend. Well, Friday night. Robards wants us to finish up any paperwork we’ve got outstanding first so that we can give our full attention to this mission.” 

Harry nodded. “Right. So… what about Christmas shopping? Have you done yours?” 

Draco shook his head. “No. I don’t have a lot of people to buy for this year, so I was planning on doing it by owl order while we’re in Scotland. We’ll have to act normally while we’re there, so doing a bit of shopping won’t do any harm.” 

“Oh. That makes sense, I suppose,” Harry replied with a slight frown. “Are we allowed to tell anyone about the mission?” 

“Robards said to only tell ‘those who need to know’, so I suppose that’s down to our judgement,” Draco replied. “I’m going to tell Mother and Pansy, but that’s all. I know I can trust them to keep it to themselves.” 

“I suppose I’ll tell Ron and Hermione… they’re the only ones who really matter,” Harry said thoughtfully. “No-one else needs to know.” 

Draco nodded once. “You’ll need to set something up for your house, too. To make it look like you’re still there.” 

“I’ll sort that tonight. I’m sure there are charms I can put in place,” Harry said. 

“Right, well, now that’s cleared up… coffee?” 

“Coffee,” Harry nodded. “A strong one.” 

Draco rolled his eyes and summoned his cloak.

***

“Where’s the kettle?”

“The what?” 

“The kettle!” 

“Potter, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Oh, come on, you must know what a kettle is? Surely you’ve seen one before?” 

“I know _vaguely_ what a Muggle kettle is, yes. But I have no idea where it would be,” Draco replied, sticking his head around the kitchen door frame. “Where should it be?” 

“Well in here somewhere,” Harry said, turning a circle on the spot. “But I don’t see one.” 

“Have you looked in all of the cupboards?” 

“Of course I have. There isn’t one here,” Harry said with a sigh. “We’re going to have to buy one, or we’ll spend a fortune on coffee.” 

Draco frowned. “Well that’s not practical. Let’s make a list of what we need and we can go and get it all at once.” 

Harry nodded, summoning a writing pad and pen from his bag. Opening the pad, he wrote at the top of a fresh page ‘kettle’, then they began to work through the rooms in the house, checking for anything that they thought they might need. When Robards had told them that they were going to be occupying a small house in a village on the outskirts of the Cairngorms, they’d been under the impression that it would have everything they would need. But, having got there, they’d soon realised they were wrong. 

“Have you unpacked everything else?” Draco asked as he closed the last cupboard door in the kitchen. 

“Yeah, that’s why I wanted the kettle,” Harry said, frowning. “I wanted a cuppa.” 

“Alright, well if you’ve unpacked, we might as well go shopping now. Then when we get back, we can both have a cuppa.” 

“Yeah. I suppose you’re right. I saw a supermarket as we came through the town, so let’s just go there before it gets dark,” Harry sighed. 

“At least it will look all festive,” Draco said, giving Harry a look. 

“I suppose so, yeah,” Harry replied, nodding. He’d almost forgotten it was nearly Christmas. The weather was a lot colder here, and although there wasn’t any snow at the moment, he knew it would come. They weren’t far from Hogwarts’ general area and he couldn’t remember a winter there without snow. 

“Come on, this isn’t that bad is it?” 

“No. No, of course it’s not,” Harry sighed. “I just… it’s strange not being at home for Christmas, you know? My best Christmases have been spent with my friends and their families. I’m just…” 

“A bit annoyed that you’re spending it with me this year instead. Got it,” Draco said. His voice was light, but there was a hint of hurt contained in his words. 

“No, I’m not annoyed about that,” Harry said quickly. “Really, I’m not. You know I like spending time with you.” 

“But you don’t consider me one of your friends,” Draco replied. “You don’t have to lie to spare my feelings, Potter. I know we’re colleagues, not friends.” 

Harry frowned. He hadn’t really thought about what he considered Draco to be now. He knew that he no longer considered him an enemy, and they were obviously colleagues that got on well, but he wasn’t sure they could be considered _friends_ yet. Though Harry had thought that they were probably well on their way. He found Draco to be sarcastic but witty, and with the right people, charming… nothing like the boy he knew at school. Of course, at the beginning, they'd had their differences, but they’d managed to move past them eventually and were now a good partnership. 

“Earth to Potter!” 

Harry shook his head, gazing at Draco blankly. “Sorry… what?” 

“You just drifted off,” Draco replied, frowning slightly. “Are we going shopping or what?” 

“Yes. Yes, let’s go,” Harry said, moving towards the door. “Then we can have that cuppa.”

***

As the days passed, the weather got colder and the days seemed shorter than ever. Harry and Draco were spending hours at a time camped out in the nearby forest where there was a small cabin. They knew the cabin was a wizard’s building because while they were walking through the trees, they saw many Muggles heading towards it but suddenly veering away as though something had caught their attention. They’d never seen anyone going in or out of the cabin, but the magical traces that they were detecting told them there were at least two people using it. By using glamours, they’d avoided raising any suspicions. They simply looked like tourists out for a walk, occasionally with a dog in tow after Harry found a stuffed dog toy in one of the local shops and bought it. It had been a simple case of Transfiguration to bring it to life.

Today, they were posing as a couple and were walking hand in hand through the trees. Snow was falling lightly, steadily building a layer beneath their feet and making everything seem magical. 

“If I was a romantic person, this would be one of those fairytale times that you usually only see in storybooks,” Harry said, as they trudged around the cabin. They were always careful not to go too close, for fear that they’d be caught out. “Don’t you think?” 

Draco glanced at him. “Really? You like this kind of thing?” 

“Yeah, don’t you?” Harry asked, curiously. “Is there anything more magical than walking with your partner while the snow falls?” 

“Well. I’ve never actually done it.” 

“What?” Harry stopped walking and looked at Draco in surprise. 

“I’ve never actually done that,” Draco repeated.

“Wow. So this is your first time?” 

Draco raised an eyebrow but nodded. “I suppose you could say that.” 

“Well then, I’m honoured to be your first,” Harry said with a grin. 

Draco snorted. “Alright, alright, you’re not my _first_.” 

Harry laughed and tugged on Draco’s hand, continuing their journey through the forest. “I know that. That would be a little bit weird, don’t you think?” 

“A little bit, yes,” Draco replied with a nod. “Considering we’re only colleagues.” 

Harry groaned. “Don’t. I never actually _said_ that. I consider you a friend now.” 

“Do you really?” 

Harry nodded. “I do. Possibly one of my best friends even.” 

“Well, now I’m flattered,” Draco said with a grin. “I know your circle is select.”

Harry groaned again. “That makes me sound like a snob!” 

Draco laughed. “No, just choosy about your friends. I am also choosy, haven’t you noticed?” 

“I suppose, now you mention it,” Harry said, nodding. “I’d go so far as to say that you’re even more choosy than me.” 

“Then _you_ should be flattered that I’ve let you in,” Draco replied, looking at Harry out of the corner of his eye. 

“Oh, I am. I am.” 

“Good. Glad to hear it.” 

Harry smiled to himself as they continued to walk. They’d walked the same route several times each day and knew it well now. They knew the best vantage point to see the cabin from and were making their way towards it. Harry hoped that today would be the day that they had a breakthrough, although he had to admit that he was enjoying spending time with Draco. They’d talked more than they usually did in the office, and he supposed it was because they were literally spending twenty-four hours a day with each other rather than just a few hours.

Draco glanced across at Harry as they walked, but didn’t say anything. 

“What?” 

“Nothing. Just wondering how we came to be in this position.” 

“What, walking through a forest hand in hand?” Harry asked, turning to look at Draco.

“Well, yeah, and the rest,” Draco replied with a chuckle. “Auror partners. Me and you. Malfoy and Potter. Who would have ever thought it?” 

“Good point,” Harry replied. “I certainly wouldn’t have.” 

“For what it’s worth, I quite like how things are now. I don’t want them to change.” 

“Why would they change?” Harry asked with a frown. “We’re probably one of the best Auror teams in the Ministry.” 

“Well, I mean, I don’t know. Things change all the time. But I don’t want this to change.” 

“What are you trying to say, Malfoy? This sounds like more than just… musings,” Harry replied, stopping in his tracks and forcing Draco to do the same. 

Draco took a breath before licking his lips. He looked at Harry. “That’s probably because it _is_ more than just a musing.” 

Harry’s expression turned to one of mild concern. “Alright…” 

“I haven’t known how to bring it up with you because we were always so busy, then we’ve ended up here and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity but then I lost my nerve and now… now I’m rambling,” Draco said in a rush. 

“How to bring what up with me? You can talk to me about anything,” Harry replied, looking around and then tugging on Draco’s hand, leading him to a nearby fallen tree to sit down. 

Draco followed him, sitting down on the log but not letting go of Harry’s hand. “The point you made about the snow falling made me realise that I needed to talk to you about this,” he said. “I’ve never had a partner to do this with because I’ve been waiting for the right person. But the person has no idea.” 

“Why don’t you tell them?” Harry asked, frowning. “They might feel the same way.” 

“That’s the thing… I don’t think they do,” Draco replied quietly. 

“You won’t know if you don’t tell them though,” Harry said. “What have you got to lose?” 

“Probably everything I’ve worked for,” Draco replied, looking Harry in the eye. 

Harry blinked as he gazed back. He didn’t say anything for a moment, then… _“Oh.”_

The snow was still falling gently as they gazed at each other in silence. Glancing up to watch the flakes drifting down, Harry frowned. “Did you put that there?” 

“What?” Draco asked, looking up too. He immediately spotted what had caught Harry’s attention - mistletoe. Not just any mistletoe, it was clearly enchanted as there was a bright red ribbon around it and it was shimmering ever so slightly. “No… you picked this log for us to sit on, how do I know you didn’t put it there?” 

Harry rolled his eyes. “Well. I suppose we’d better follow the rules hadn’t we?” 

Draco swallowed and looked back at Harry. “Seriously?”

Harry nodded. “Yes. We wouldn’t want the Nargles to get us.” 

“The… what?” Draco asked, his expression blank. 

“Nevermind,” Harry replied, leaning in and closing the gap between them. His lips met Draco’s and, instantly, warmth flooded through him. The kiss was soft and tender, making Harry smile as they parted. “Did that help with your decision?” 

“Yes,” Draco whispered, slowly opening his eyes again. “I should have told you a long time ago. I just couldn’t see how without ruining everything.” 

Harry laughed softly. “I totally understand. I suppose I’d never given you a signal that I might feel the same, had I?” 

Draco shook his head. “Not a single one, so thanks for that! Making me do all the work!” 

Harry grinned. “I’m sorry. Believe me, if I’d thought you felt the same, I’d have let you know quicker than a Snitch.” 

“I suppose I should be glad that this has happened before Christmas actually gets here,” Draco said with a sigh. “Although… do I have to get you a present?” 

Harry laughed. “I’m happy to just have this,” he said. “Whatever this is between us.” 

“What do you want it to be?” Draco asked, biting his lip gently. 

“What do _you_ want it to be?” Harry countered. 

Draco was silent for a moment. “I think you already know that.” 

Harry shook his head. “I don’t. Not for sure. I need you to talk to me about this.” 

“I would like it–really like it–if we could be a thing,” Draco said slowly. “You know, be… Harry and Draco instead of Potter and Malfoy when people think about us.”

Harry smiled. “I’d like that too.” 

“Good. So now we both know where we’re at,” Draco said, looking down briefly before looking up at the mistletoe again. “Do you, ah, think we should try that kissing thing again in case it was a fluke?”

Harry laughed. “I hope it wasn’t,” he said, leaning in again and kissing Draco deeply.


End file.
